Finding the Treasure

In an era of pop music run amok, when talented young jazz musicians get harassed by disappointed Justin Bieber fans via Facebook for winning Grammys, it’s easy for talents like the late Laura Nyro to recede further into the musical past. The new tribute album Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro is here to prevent that from happening. The record stands as a soothing reminder to those who want to listen that there are corners of the music industry in which talented arrangers, singers, and instrumentalists continue to make exciting music even when they are reimagining previously recorded songs.

Jazz musician and arranger Billy Childs has created a surprising and satisfying tribute with the help of an eclectic array of talent from such disparate musical worlds as bluegrass, classical and jazz. Seminal talents like Allison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Renée Fleming, Wayne Shorter and Yo-Yo Ma pair up with younger talents like Susan Tedeschi and Esperanza Spalding to play intricately arranged and often heavily jazz inflected takes on songs like “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Save the Country” and the title track “Map to the Treasure.” The love and respect that all involved have for Nyro and her music shines through from the moment Renée Fleming’s voice and Yo-Yo Ma’s cello intertwine for a slow and pensive “New York Tendaberry.” From there each track flows into the next like a piece of improvisational jazz.

The eclecticism continues as “The Confession” introduces a faster tempo following the slow opening track, and ends with a furious trill of notes from the keyboards as R&B singer Becca Stevens belts out the line “Love is surely gospel.” Each song has its own feel yet contains the kernels of jazz that inspired both Laura Nyro and Billy Childs. Childs himself has stated that Nyro was a major influence on his musical career, and in 2012, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame finally recognized her talent and influence on the musical world at large. This is the perfect moment then for this record to be released.

For Childs to have brought together this much talent from such different fields might seem something of a coup if it weren’t for the fact that he has worked with almost all of them as an arranger. Nevertheless, the collection of artists is a clear statement of how important Ms. Nyro was to music, even if many today may not be familiar with her work. But after digesting the beautiful yet challenging music on Map to the Treasure, one can only hope that somehow this record will find its way beyond the ears of its intended audience. As Allison Krauss sings sweetly at the end of the record, “and when I’m gone, there’ll be one child born and the world will carry on.”